Dispensing mechanism



Dec. 21, 1943. c BROWN DISPENSING MECHANISM Filed March 20, 1942 Eli Ho 5] 1 vuQ/rri om Charla? Fflrown Patented Dec. 21, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING MECHANISM Charles F. Brown, Greeneville, Tenn.

Application March 20, 1942, Serial No. 435,569

4 Claims. (01. -264) This invention relates to dispensing mechanism and has particular reference to an arrangement for maintaining readily accessible in substantially paste form what is normally powder. Further particularizing, the invention relates to facilitating the work of an automobile filling or service station operator in cleaning and polishing the windshield, or any glass transparency, of an automobile which is being serviced, and to improving the result obtained thereby.

Among the more or less prevalent procedures for cleaning automobile Windshields, etc., are the liquid cutter system and the abrasive cleaning and polishing system. In the former some liquid capable of cutting or dissolving grease, etc., such as carbon tetrachloride or glyceride is sprayed or disposed in some other manner upon the glass and the glass is then rubbed with a cloth or other suitable substance. One of the disadvantages of this procedure is that the operator seldom completes a thorough and uniform rubbing operation, the result being that there remain spots and streaks of the liquid which have a tendency to spread in a thin film over the glass. These tend to enhance the opacity at and around the foreign substance left on the glass and, worse, to spread unevenly in such manner as to distort vision by changing the refractive value of the glass over those portions from which the deposit has not been removed. 'Another common procedure is to clean the glass with an abrasive polisher. This is more satisfactory in that the operator can more readily see quickly such spots as have not been rubbed and is more apt to do a thorough job than when using what is usually a substantially transparent liquid.

, Powder has been found the most satisfactory form of abrasive for this purpose, but considerable difficulty has been encountered in applying it in such manner as to avoid waste. Moistening the powder proved helpful in eliminating waste and preventing the powder from being deposited accidentally on the lacquered and polished surfaces of the car itself, which was often disastrous.

But considerable difliculty arose in moistening the powder without using an excess of water,

thereby not only impairing the eiliciency of the powder as a cleaner and polisher, but frequently depositing the excess water on the lacquered finish of the car, or on the upholstery itself when working from the interior. One attempted solution resides in the use of a porous bag, composed of fabric or similar substance, filled with powder. The bag is dipped in water, squeezed out, then applied to this procedure is not satisfactory because it is impossible to get just the right amount of water when the bag is immersed, the result bethe windshield. Obviously.

ing that the excess water drops onto the hood or other finished parts of the car when the bag is squeezed or pressed against the windshield and windows.

An object of this invention is to eliminate all of the difficulties hitherto described and at the same time maintain a ready supply of powder suitable for the described purpose in a readily usable paste form over a substantial period of time.

A further object is to eliminate the need for constant attention in maintaining a proper paste consistency and to so construct and arrange a device for accomplishing this that the consistency will be maintained automatically without risk of saturating the powder to a point where it is useless for the intended purpose.

Still another object is to so arrange a plurality of powder containers that they may be moistened automatically by a single liquid reservoir, and to so construct the reservoir and its associated powder containers that substantially the entire contents of the reservoir are rendered successively available as needed for the purpose of moistening the powder to the desired extent.

Important features of the invention reside in the simplicity of construction and the manner in which the various parts are assembled to permit ready use by the operator and ready recharging or restocking with both powder and liquid when occasion demands.

Various other objects and meritorious features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures, and where- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the arrangement fully assembled, illustrating in dotted lines the manner in which oneelement is removed to permit recharging the liquid reservoir;

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a detail, partly in section.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the numeral l0 represents broadly the base of a preferred form of device, which base embodies a relatively shallow liquid reservoir in a manner to be described.

The base may be of any desired marginal contour, the preferred embodiment illustrated being sufiiciently elongated to accommodate powder containers [2 and I4 disposed on opposite sides of a rinsing fluid container l6.

Referring now more particularly to the construction of the combined base member and liquid reservoir, the preferred form illustrated comprises a stamped metal sheet providing an upper wall l8 and a depending marginal side wall 20 of uniform depth extending around its ena simpler construction the lower edge of side wall and the edge of flange 22 of the bottom plate 26 may be brazed or welded together.

Openings are provided in the upper wall of the base or reservoir for removably seating opentopped powder containers l2 and M, the side wall 39 of each powder container being tapered in such degree with reference to the size of the opening in which the container is seated and with reference to the area of container bottom 32 that the said bottom rests near the reservoir bottom plate 26, but in spaced relation thereto. Spaced apertures 3 3 are provided in walls 36 ad jacent the bottom thereof.

While the containers i2. and i4 herein illustrated are removably positioned, it is obvious that the same might be welded, soldered Or brazed in the opening therefor if removability is undesirable. Positioned in the center of the upper wall it of the reservoir is a filler opening which may be closed by a removable filler cap 3%.

The maximum level of the liquid in the reser voir should not be very much above the openings I 34 in the side walls of the powder containers when seated in the base. Otherwise there might be a hydrostatic head sufficiently great to force the liquid which passes through the openings too far up into the powder in the container. This,

together with normal seepage of the liquid upward through the powder, would tend to provide an excess of moisture at all times and particularly when the powder supply in the containers became low. Openings 3% should be relatively small, not only to limit the flow of liquid therethrough but to preclude the passage of powder outwardly into the reservoir.

ihe liquid in the reservoir below the level of the bottom of the powder containers i ineffectual. For that reason, and because at no time as aforesaid should the bottom of the powder containers extend far below the liquid level in the reservoir, a shallow reservoir is all that is necessar and desirable.

The slope or taper in the bottom wall of the base reservoir throws the liquid outwardly to the margin thereof, where the powder containers are located. In this way substantially all liquid in the reservoir is rendered available for its iiitended purpose, some liquid remaining around the openings in the powder containers even when the central portion of the reservoir has become dry.

Welded or brazed to the top wall of the reservoir are base flanges 3%! of a bail-lik member 45, which latter serves as a handle and also" as a means for positioning rinsing fluid container 55. At diametrically opposed points of the wall of container l6 threaded pins M extend outwardly and are adapted to seat in open-ended slots 35 provided in the arms of bail-like member 4i Wing nuts 38 normally hold the rinsing container permanently in position and may be loosened to permit sliding the container out of its supporting notches E6 to permit removal of the filler cap 35. When in position the rinsing fluid container is superposed over filler cap 36 and in substantial contact therewith, thereby precluding accidental displacement of the latter.

Supports such as hooks may be afiixed to the bail-like member 40, if desired, for the purpose of holding auxiliary tools such as the scraper 52 indicated in dotted line in Fig. 3.

In use the base reservoir is filled with liquid,

Upreferably water, and the containers I2 and M are filled with suitable powder. The water which enters the containers through openings 34 is sufficient to wet the powder in the extreme bottom of the containers and seep upwardly through the contents thereof, thereby constantly retaining the powder in a paste form which may readily be picked up with a relatively dry sponge or cloth and applied in the manner described. Maintaining the powder itself in paste form by moistening eliminates the need for excess moisture in the applicator, such as the cloth or sponge. When the job is completed the appli cator may be rinsed in container is preparatory for the next job.

Although the preferred embodiment of my in vention is disclosed herein, I do not wish to be limited thereto but only by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device for dispensing powder in paste form comprising a closed shallow liquid reser-' voir and an open-topped powder container so disposed through the top sheet of the reservoir that its base is below the normal surface level of the liquid therein, said container having small openings in its side wall adjacent its base to permit the liquid to ooze into the contained powder.

2. A device for dispensing powder in paste form comprising a shallow hollow base member forming a liquid reservoir, a filler opening in the center thereof, spaced openings in the upper wall of said reservoir, powder containers seated in said openings, the side walls of the, containers being provided with small openings adjacent their bottoms to permit the liquid to ooze into the contained powder.

3. A device for dispensing powder in paste form comprising a hollow base member formin a liquid reservoir, the bottom plate of the said reservoir being bumped up about its center to form a channel around its periphery, a filler opening in the reservoir, spaced openings in the upper wall of said reservoir adjacent the margin thereof, powder containers seated in said openings, the side walls of the containers being provided with small openings adjacent their bottoms to permit the liquid to ooze into the contained powder a bail-like handle secured to the wall of said reservoir.

4. A device for dispensing powder in paste form comprising a shallow hollow base menber forming a liquid reservoir, the bottom plate of the said reservoir being bumped up about its center to form a channel around its periphery,- a filler opening in the said reservoir member, anopening in the upper wall of said reservoir adjacent the margin thereof, a powder container seated in said opening,- the side wall of the container being provided with small openings ad jacent its bottom to permit the liquid to ooze into the contained powder, a handle secured to the Wall of said reservoir.

CHARLES F. BROWN. 

